Seattle's housing market has experienced a steady price increase, a trend that confounds conventional wisdom and has analysts looking to explain this unique phenomenon.

In King County, the number of available houses and condominiums increased 51 percent last month, yet prices still rose nine percent compared to a year ago, The Seattle Times reported August 7 ("Housing prices defy logic, keep climbing"). This flouts the basic economic principal that prices should decrease in the wake of a significant positive supply shift.

Similar price and supply increases have occurred in neighboring Pierce and Snohomish counties, where the number of homes on the market increased by 47 and 57 percent respectively.

The trend of appreciation in all three counties has persisted for several months.

This may spell trouble for students seeking housing near campus, as the U-District has likewise been subject to the steady rise in housing costs experienced all over the city.

The majority of students, of course, are not buyers but renters. The cost of renting, however, seems to have followed the same trend. Average monthly rent in downtown Seattle is up 6.6 percent from last year, with similar increases throughout Seattle and its suburbs, according to The Seattle Times.

Junior Emily Van Der Harten moved from an apartment on Northeast 50th Street to a house on 17th Avenue Northeast.

Van Der Harten, who shared her apartment and plans to share her new house with several roommates, said the increased number of houses and apartments available on the market has not made finding a living space near campus any easier.

"It's difficult to find a place near campus, one that is affordable and convenient," she said. "Also, we found our new house through a friend. Most of finding homes in this area comes entirely from networking and connections, which means there simply aren't a lot of places that are easily and obviously available. You have to know people who know people."

Senior Corrie Dudley had to move out of her house on Northeast 45th Street, which was a short walk from campus.

The landlord, compelled by the lucrative draw of rising property values, wanted to sell the house instead of renting it out. Dudley and her housemates were unable to find convenient accommodations near campus and settled for a larger house in Lake City with a significantly longer commute to the UW.

Dudley thinks the constant turnover of renters in the U-District makes that particular market prone to significant fluctuations.

"The trouble with the U-District housing crunch is that it makes the market change almost weekly," she said. "You'll go to an open house on the first day and there will be forty people there. The next week, the agent is struggling to close a deal. It's a matter of getting lucky."

Dudley said she is now very happy where she ended up — far away from the "noisy, hectic neighborhood" near the UW.

This trend of rising costs may make living in the residence halls or in the Greek community, as opposed to renting in the private sector, more appealing to students.

However, residence halls at the UW have also been subject to recent price hikes. Increases in the cost of living, which tends to shift upward annually, have prompted the UW's Housing and Food Services to increase the cost of room and board for students living on campus.

Students can expect to see a 1-3 percent increase in their housing costs next year.

Van Der Harten, who lived in a residence hall her freshman year, discovered her living costs would be subject to an increase in the coming year. She moved into the private sector instead.

Van Der Harten thinks the increasing residence hall prices impact neighborhood housing prices.

"When dorm costs go up, that prompts landlords to think they can raise costs, too," she said.

At this point, it is unclear whether costs will continue to rise or if the bubble will eventually burst. For the time being, appreciation in King County shows no signs of slowing down.